Here they are! From Vacation Bible School pregnancies to edible elevators, from neurology in Pre-K to CEOs in gang recovery programs, here are the articles, thoughts, essays and ideas that I’ve been thinking and stewing over this week. Enjoy, and let me know what you think about the articles!

We are way past the civil rights era, right? And we say “What a shame” about Apartheid because we would never behave in such a way, right? Take a look at the details behind education for the poor in the USA.

Homeboy Indsutries and Homegirl Industries in California is one of the few anti-gang groups making progress. To get out of the gang-life, there has to be something worth going into, like Homeboy Industries. See why ARM watches Homeboy as we plan for The HUB Club, and see how it helps meet gangbangers and CEOs.

It’s one thing to argue about healthcare with terms we learned from magazine news shows; it’s another to think about having to choose between food or medicine. And then to know the choice is made by people every day, people very close to home, adds an element of at least valuing the conversation.

Across the nation, teen pregnancy is down, except for those states in the Bible Belt where to get pregnant as a teenager is a huge scarlet “P” for the rest of your life. What makes the difference, and why should the church be paying attention to its ways of being in the world?

I don’t even know what to say. I’m equally intrigued by the grossness and the coolness of this London-based advertisement experiment. One thing to make time in an elevator with others just a little more awkward.

Think little kids are only learning about blues and reds? Think again! The Blue School is teaching kids to think about HOW they think, teaching them how to observe their own thought, emotion, and learning processes…something most of us wait until far too late to do. Way coolness.

I noticed that an organization, Partners in Health, who follows great practice standards and is working hard to prevent and minimize ongoing harm in Haiti done by charity workers, is listed as number 2. It makes me proud of them, and makes the kinds of concepts from “When Helping Hurts” all the more important for all of our non-profits, whether faith-based or not.

While it shouldn’t be surprising, it is very interesting that the borders of the Bible Belt that stretch across the southeastern US (and notch over enough to get Utah) have a lot to do with the distribution of education and wealth.

As a child, my parents stopped trying to prevent me from making a mess in my room with paint, clay, markers and …the deadliest, scotch tape. The ended up ripping the carpet up and putting down tile so that ultimately the room could just be hosed down after I was done experimenting. Here’s to letting all surfaces be fair-game for craft time.